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Author Notes:If I had to pick a cocktail to be the only one I could ever drink again, my choice would be the Aviation. It is a classic from the early 20th century, and its formula is 2 oz gin, 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur, 1/2 oz lemon juice, and 1/4 oz crème de violette. Sometimes the violet liqueur is left out, but then the cocktail doesn't have the lovely clear pale purple hue from which it derives its name. I have created an ice cold summery rendition of the drink, substituting frozen cherry juice cubes for the Maraschino liqueur. I hope you enjoy! —hardlikearmour

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Serves 2

For the cherry cubes:

1/2
pound sweet cherries

2
large lemons

2
tablespoons sugar

water

Pit your cherries and place them into a blender. Juice your lemons, straining out any seeds, into the blender. Add sugar. Blend until cherries have been thoroughly liquified. If your blender has trouble, add up to 1/4 cup water.

Stain cherry juice into a glass measure, through a fine mesh strainer to remove most of the solids. Press out as much liquid as possible. Add water to a total volume of 1 1/2 cups of cherry juice. Stir.

Pour into an ice cube tray (or more if needed.) Freeze until solid (at least several hours).

Note: This will make enough cherry juice cubes for 2 batches of the cocktail. Alternately, use additional cubes in limeade, to keep your Red Skies icy cold for longer, or eat them like mini-popsicles.

For the cocktail:

4
ounces (1/2 cup) freezer cold gin (Aviation preferred)

3/4
ounce (1 1/2 tablespoons) crème de violette

1/2
batch cherry cubes from above

Lemon juice (optional)

Combine gin, crème de violette, and cherry juice cubes in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste, and stir in lemon juice if desired.

Divide between 2 cocktail glasses. Kick back and enjoy!

Note: If need be you can omit the crème de violette. It adds a nice floral note, but the cocktail is still tasty without it.

I have never tried creme de violette (actually, there are many, many liqueurs I've never tried, but whatever), and now I really, really want to! This is just the most beautiful drink! I'm loving all the brilliant colors everyone's cocktails are coming out.

Thanks, fiveandspice. Creme de violette is really lovely - a gorgeous purple color and a really nice floral flavor. If you get it be sure to try sagegreen's violet crush, too! This contest has really beautiful submissions!

Thanks, lapadia. I'm sure this is blasphemous, but in general I don't like most gins. I find the juniper a bit too intense. On the other hand I love Aviation gin because it has multiple botanicals and is not as juniper-centric. Plus it's made in Portland, and I definitely have a weak spot for locally made products!